Sharing our Expertise
Feldsteinco is a knowledge-based company. What this means is that we have deeply specialized and unique expertise that is based on our own continuous learning, hands-on experience, and whole-brain thinking—in the critical area of the management and maximization of in-bound fund-raising revenue. It also means that we are committed to sharing that knowledge and expertise, including about the how. One of the worst pieces of advice I ever received is “Don’t give away too much.”
I never worry that people will steal our ideas because you must have the unique expertise, experience and personality to implement them. Before going into the fund-raising business I love, I thought I wanted to go in to Academia. Being a teacher is part of my DNA. As long as what I am doing is telling people things they don’t already know and need to know. No boiler-plate. No BS.
The other reason I have never been afraid of giving away too much, I believe people deserve in advance to have a sense of the depth, originality and simplicity of the advice, information and guidance they are going to get should they become clients. I want clients that consider themselves “Learning Organizations.” For just as the role of educator is in my DNA, so is being a student and lifelong learner myself.
One of the reasons I love LinkedIn is that it is such a great medium for sharing knowledge and expertise. Below you will find a number of my posts from LinkedIn, along with other fund-raising advisories centered around the only thing that counts, the management and maximization of in-bound revenue.
THE CONNECTION PARADOX
Philanthropic donors and retail, restaurant, hotel customers etc. have never been more fickle and demanding, and at the same time more eager for very meaningful connection, relationships and engagement. There is widespread relationship damage and churn taking place; relationships built up and tended over the years with significant acquisition cost are being wasted.
Whatever your industry, your relationships are your most valuable asset and job # 1 to be done is to strengthen them even further. Giving and buying habits are changing rapidly at precisely the time when your institution needs to remain their habit. I am on a mission to help institutions see the potential in each of their key relationships and take full advantage of this connective power. Expert help is needed urgently in developing conversations and engagement with your key constituents because loyalties are shifting very fast. You can’t afford to appear to be transactional. A relationship is a terrible thing to waste.
LinkedIn 05/03/2023
THE CONNECTION PARADOX
Philanthropic donors and retail, restaurant, hotel customers etc. have never been more fickle and demanding, and at the same time more eager for very meaningful connection, relationships and engagement. There is widespread relationship damage and churn taking place; relationships built up and tended over the years with significant acquisition cost are being wasted.
Whatever your industry, your relationships are your most valuable asset and job # 1 to be done is to strengthen them even further. Giving and buying habits are changing rapidly at precisely the time when your institution needs to remain their habit. I am on a mission to help institutions see the potential in each of their key relationships and take full advantage of this connective power. Expert help is needed urgently in developing conversations and engagement with your key constituents because loyalties are shifting very fast. You can’t afford to appear to be transactional. A relationship is a terrible thing to waste.
LinkedIn 05/02/2023
20% TIME
As complex systems are breaking down all around us while the world is becoming even more complex, it is more essential than ever to focus time and attention creatively on the right things. Vilfredo Pareto’s 80/20 Principle may be our best guide to how the world works.
LinkedIn 04/06/2023
THE 80/20 PRINCIPLE
As complex systems are breaking down all around us, it is essential to focus on the right things and understand how the world works. Vilfredo Pareto’s 80/20 Principle may be our best guide.
Starting today, and in the days ahead, I am sharing various 80/20 insights to illustrate how Power Laws are a mindset that will lead to much greater success.
LinkedIn 04/05/2023
THE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INFORMING AND EXPLAINING
I can't imagine Winston Churchill using PowerPoint had it existed in 1940.
We have all encountered discussions of the limitations of PowerPoint. I think PowerPoint is great. Use it all the time. But I use it for informing, not explaining. It is a terrific tool for organizing and conveying information and some times for educating, but not for providing great explanations.
If you want to rally people to a cause, or help them understand the situation they are in, or perceive the right course of action to make progress, you need to offer a motivating and often inspiring explanation. Yes, that explanation often includes information. But it needs a riveting human voice and narrative, and won’t succeed if centered around a series of bullet points.
LinkedIn 03/08/2023
NEIMAN-MARCUS NONSENSE
The kerfuffle last week over comments by the CEO that he is only interested in the top 2% of customers who apparently make up 40% of sales tells me that Neiman-Marcus needs to undertake what Repurchase Marketing (www.repurchasemarketing.com) calls “80/20 Major Customer Audit and Analysis." Last week’s pseudo-controversy in Dallas is manifesting as a public relations problem but is really a matter of business intelligence and actionable customer analytics.
No, repeat no, business should be focused on where it is getting 40% of sales. The useful lens is one that shows you where 80% of sales are coming from. We know from Vilfredo Pareto’s 80/20 principle that roughly 80% of sales can be expected to come from approximately 20% of customers. ( Maybe for NM 80% is coming from 10%. Pareto Dynamics is an approximation—it’s not Newtonian Physics).
Neiman-Marcus, like all retailers, needs to be focused on those customers producing 80% of sales, and on continuously increasing the dollar value of the 80% threshold and the number of customers in this club.
LinkedIn 02/21/2023
